Kilmacolm ex-lawyers jailed for £1.5m money laundering fraud

Disgraced David Lyons, 71, and Ian Robertson, 69 — both of Kilmacolm — cleaned the dirty money of villains in a serious and organised crime operation spanning 18 months.

Both men cut lonely figures in the dock of the High Court in Glasgow as judge Lord Richardson told them they had been 'motivated by personal greed' and had 'lost everything' as a result.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds were channelled through a client's account at Robertson's law firm in Paisley — which is now permanently closed.

Lord Richardson said: "You planned and operated a scheme to launder money and very significant sums were involved totalling almost one-and-a-half-million pounds.

"This included receiving money to a client account and a complicated false paper trail.

"It is clear that what you did was serious organised crime and you collectively committed a fraud which was a crucial link within a web of criminality spread across the United Kingdom.

"You did this by cleaning the proceeds of crimes and giving criminals access to their ill-gotten gains.

"What you did was extremely detrimental to society as a whole.

"On any view the conduct was highly reprehensible."

Lord Richardson told Robertson that his key involvement in the operation 'must be condemned in the strongest possible terms'.

The judge added: "You undermined the very trust that underpins legal practice."

Robertson and Lyons acted along with co-accused Mohammed Aziz, 62, Alastair Blackwood, 68, and Robert Ferguson, 67, in crimes including hacking the bank account of a football club owner.

A total of £985,000 of the unwitting businessman's money ended up in a client at the Robertson and Ross law firm.

He had given no authorisation for the transfer and only became aware of it when he was contacted by his bank's fraud team.

Other crooked deals involved a £79,340 cheque due to be paid to a law firm in Jersey plus fraudulent property transactions.

Robertson, Lyons and Aziz continue to deny their crimes and claim that they were 'duped', the High Court heard.

Lord Richardson said: "All three of you were motivated by personal greed with no consideration given to the harm you were doing to society.

"You have each lost everything.

"It is apparent that you all continue to deny responsibility for the crimes for which you have been convicted.

"In each case a lengthy custodial sentence is the only appropriate disposal to reflect what you have done."

The case centred on fraudulent transactions carried out between May 2015 and July 2016, the first of which involved a £79,340 stolen cheque due to be paid to a law firm on Jersey.

Another involved the sum of £240,000 from a fraudulent house sale in London.

The scam was uncovered after Robertson claimed to be acting for a man who wanted to sell his home in Essex, however the 'seller' was said to be staying at a flat that turned out to be Robert Ferguson's address.

A total of £181,786 was made from that fraudulent sale.

False records were created to make the transactions appear legitimate and fake papers and IDs — including a passport and driver's licence — were collated in a bid to cover up the crimes.

Robertson was sentenced to eight years, Lyons to seven years, Aziz seven years, Blackwood seven years and Ferguson 16 months.

Laura Buchan, procurator fiscal for specialist casework, said: "The public rightly must have confidence in lawyers to uphold the law.

"These individuals fell far short of the standards of professional conduct the public are entitled to expect from members of the legal profession. "

David Gordon, convener of the Law Society of Scotland regulatory committee, said: "The Law Society has robust anti-money laundering measures in place to protect the public and ensure the legitimate services provided by legal practices are not misused for criminal purposes.

"This outcome in court highlights the importance of taking swift action and ensuring that concerns were reported to the authorities."